


On the subject of curiosity

by Raewyll



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-01-01 06:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18330386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raewyll/pseuds/Raewyll
Summary: The new neighbours are in and apparently, they have a cat - or more likely, an escape artist in disguise. But then again... how many of them are really there?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I should be working. No, I don't really care. My co-worker just cursed at me for not delivering fast enough, so this little snippet here was written just to spite him. You know what's best? There's more where this came from!

“Mikasa! Wait!” a terrified voice yelled.

Unsure of what to expect, Levi halted his climb on the stairs and quickly retreated a step back for better support.

From the corner, a shadowy figure pounced forward, makings it way quickly towards the stairs and coming to a stop only when Levi reached forward to dampen its inevitable fall.

“Mikasa! Please, come back!”

Levi looked down to take a good look at the bundle of black fur getting tangled in his hands.

It was a cat.

“Mikasa!” someone called again, the voice now strained with exhaustion. Suddenly, a young man appeared at the top of the stairs, planting a shaking palm on the railing for support.

“Oh, thank you!” he wheezed with a sharp exhale.

Levi was quite certain that he had never seen the boy before. This building had only four floors and they were standing on the first, which really didn’t explain how he had gotten himself so out of breath by running through a few flight of stairs.

“Is she yours?” Levi asked after lengthy consideration as he gently stroked the little escapee’s fur, sparing only a glance towards his exhausted neighbour.

“Yes. Thank you for catching her… I really don’t know what I would’ve done if she bolted through the door…”

He seemed sincere enough. Levi guessed him to be around his early twenties – probably a college student.

There was a momentary pause, but before either of them could’ve spoken, another voice yelled from somewhere above: “What’s going on? Did you get her?”

The boy’s answer was short and still breathless. “Someone did,” he yelled as loud as he could. Then, as if he had just realized something, his expression quickly changed. “Apologies, I haven’t even introduced myself. We haven’t met just yet, have we?”

Levi shook his head and replied with a curt “no” before freeing his right hand to accept the handshake.

“Armin Arlert,” the boy introduced himself. “My friend up there is called Eren and this here is Mikasa,” he explained, reaching out to carefully pet the cat. She purred, obviously ignorant about all the fuss she must’ve caused. “We’ve just moved in – we still are, in fact – and she’s been feeling a bit too jumpy.”

“She’s just confused,” Levi corrected him. “Find a room and fill it with her old stuff. Let her stay there for a few days. It’s going to make her feel more relaxed,” he explained before handing the little feline over. “There isn’t much traffic around here but that doesn’t mean you can just let her wander off.”

The boy – Armin – grew embarrassed and after a barrage of “thankyous” and apologies, quickly assured Levi that they would be more careful in the future.

He decided to let the issue go.

For some reason, he was certain that it wouldn’t take long before he saw the little black cat with the red collar again…


	2. Chapter 2

“Go away,” Levi growled, burying his nose deeper into the now undecipherable pages of the book he had just picked up no more than five minutes ago. “I’m busy.”

The polite knocks on the door became louder until he could no longer bear to listen or pretend otherwise.

_Not again_ , he sighed.

“It’s better be important,” he yelled, brushing his tousled hair back with a frustrated sweep. Was there no end to the _can you help withs_ and _do you have somes_? He rolled his eyes at the thought. Which one was it going to be this time?

“Sorry to bother you this late, but…”

There he was: Eren Jaeger - aka troublesome neighbour no.1 - looking somewhat embarrassed and decidedly frustrated as he kept switching idly for one leg to the other right in front of his doorstep.

“Spit it out.”

Truth to be told, Levi really wasn’t in the mood for pointless chit-chat and he wasn’t willing to pretend otherwise.

“We need your help.”

_What a surprise…_

He took a moment to consider his visitor’s appearance: no kitchen dust and exploded cookie dough; no soaked clothes, no bleeding finger and definitely not a trace of spilled detergent souring his appearance. He raised an eyebrow questioningly but chose to remain silent, waiting for Eren to explain the situation instead.

“It’s about Mikasa, actually,” he sighed, averting his gaze to study the small cracks in the woodwork instead. “We need someone to check in on her.”

“How long?”

He couldn’t really decide whether it was the tone or the content of his reply that made the boy jump a little, but neither option explained the painful grimace that momentarily appeared on Eren’s face.

“Really? Will you do it?”

“For how long?” he asked again.

“Just this weekend,” came the answer, now with a lot more enthusiasm. “Look, I know she can be a handful, but I’m pretty sure she’ll be fine, it’s just Armin that keeps fussing because she’s been a bit… out of sorts lately, but honestly I don’t think it’s anything serious, maybe just one of _those_ things and…”

“Alright.”

Eren’s confused monologue came to a sudden halt. “Really?”

“I said it, didn’t I?”

“That’s… great…” he sighed, this time in relief. “Hey, thanks a lot, but just one more thing… Can you just, you know, not make a big deal out of it in front of her?”

What was the appropriate reaction to something like this? Levi couldn’t really decide, so he just frowned and shook his head slightly.

“Anything else?”

It was Eren’s turn to shake his head now.

“Good,” Levi stated, reaching for the door. “You know, it’s really not that hard,” he said after some consideration and a long pause, but from Eren’s confused expression, he could immediately tell that his words didn’t quite manage to get through this time.

“What?” Eren asked - as if to validate his concerns -, tilting his head just a little bit to the side in innocent confusion.

“Taking care of a cat.”

“Hey,” Eren called out, eyes now wide with realization, “that’s actually a pretty good comparison!”

“Idiot,” Levi murmured before shoving the door shut.

For a brief moment, he considered whether it might’ve been wiser to never even answer the door at all…


End file.
